Who We Are
Science In Sport Group is a world leader in sports and performance nutrition.
We have two highly regarded brands; SiS which combines world-class science and innovation to provide optimal performance nutritional solutions for professional athletes, sports and fitness enthusiasts and the active lifestyle community. This includes over 320 professional teams worldwide across a broad range of sports including Football, Rugby, Cycling, Athletics, Basketball, Netball and Swimming. Brand ambassadors include former track cyclist Sir Chris Hoy, an eleven-time world champion and six-time Olympic champion, and Eilish McColgan, who won gold in the 2022 Commonwealth Games 10,000 metres.
PhD Nutrition is a premium, active-nutrition brand for the active lifestyle community wanting intelligent nutrition to help them achieve their goals. With over 20 years of research and development, our products are designed to maximise performance in and out of the gym. It's an exciting time for PhD Nutrition as 2025 will kick off an entirely new line up of brand ambassadors, from hybrid athletes to qualified sports nutritionists.
The two brands sell through the and digital platforms, third-party online marketplaces including Amazon, as well as extensive domestic and international retail distribution.
In 2022 the company opened a state of the art 160,000 square foot manufacturing and logistics facility in Blackburn, Lancashire. Providing a significant advantage in product costs and customer response time and most importantly, allowing Science In Sport to lead the way for quality standards.
Science In Sport is the nutrition partner to globally recognised elite teams, including Tottenham Hotspur, Saracens Rugby, British Triathlon, Aquatics GB, British Cycling, England Netball and Loughborough Sports. As well as being the Official Energy Gel Provider of RunThrough and the Official Nutrition Partner of Ultra X.
The Role
- Contract: 12-month Fixed-term contract
- Salary: £50,000 - £60,000 per annum
- Working Hours: Monday to Friday, 9am to 5.30pm
- Location: Blackburn
Benefits
- Pension scheme, employer contribution at 4%
- On-site gym
- Cycle to work scheme
- Product discount
- Birthday day off
Your 4 most important responsibilities
- Develop and maintain backend logic and modules - Build, extend, and maintain custom modules, business logic, and server-side functionality to support storefronts and ecommerce workflows.
- Implement integrations and backend services - Integrate third-party systems (payment gateways, ERP, stock systems, external APIs), manage data flows (orders, customers, products), and ensure seamless system interoperability.
- Ensure data integrity, security, performance and scalability - Work on database structure, queries, caching, indexing, performance tuning, and security patches to keep the platform stable and efficient under load.
- Support release cycles, maintenance, bug-fixes and technical debt management - Ensure the codebase remains clean, maintainable, and up-to-date; troubleshoot backend issues; apply patches/updates; support hotfixes and ongoing enhancements.
What you are responsible for delivering
- Robust, reliable and well-architected backend code and modules for Adobe Commerce.
- Stable data handling and integrations (orders, products, customer data, payments, shipping, 3rd-party APIs).
- High performance and scalable backend infrastructure to ensure fast response times, efficient database access and proper caching.
- Secure platform; following best practices for security, data protection, and compliance.
- Timely delivery of backend features, bug fixes, and backend-related support in sprints/releases.
- Clear documentation of backend architecture, modules, APIs that facilitate maintainability and collaboration.
The skills and behaviours required to do this job well
Technical Skills
- Strong PHP knowledge and object-oriented programming.
- Deep understanding of Adobe Commerce / Magento backend architecture: modules, config XML, database models, resource models, repositories, events/observers, plugin architecture.
- Experience with MySQL (or equivalent), database schema design, query optimisation, indexing, caching layers (Redis, Varnish, etc.).
- Familiarity with REST/GraphQL APIs (for integrations, headless setups), web-services, third-party integrations (payment, shipping, ERP).
- Familiarity with version control (Git), deployment workflows / CI-CD, and development best practices (code reviews, testing).
- Awareness of security, scalability, and performance best practices in ecommerce contexts.
Behaviours & Mindset
- Detail-oriented and careful - backend mistakes can compromise data or business logic.
- Good communication - collaborate with in-house and agency developers.
- Problem-solving - ability to debug/solve complex issues, trace problems and reason across multiple layers (database, PHP, integrations).
- Ownership - take responsibility for the reliability and stability of backend systems.
- Proactive and forward-thinking - plan for scalability and future growth, avoid short-term hacks.
How you will know you are doing a great job
- Backend code and modules are stable, reliable, and rarely cause production issues or outages.
- System performance stays strong even under load. Fast response times, efficient database access, low latency.
- Integrations (payment, shipping, external APIs, custom modules) work smoothly and reliably.
- Feature requests and bug fixes are delivered on schedule, with minimal regressions or technical debt accumulation. (in line with sprint goals & incremental delivery targets).
- Clean, maintainable code, good documentation, and adherence to standards. Others can read and extend your work easily.
- Positive feedback from your peers, backend supports the whole team without friction.
Specific metrics will be set when in role and will be reviewed and built upon regularly. Alongside this, you will be supported with a personal performance plan that will enable you to continue improving your own performance and impact.
Experience and mindset that will enable you to do well in this role
- Demonstrable experience in backend development with Adobe Commerce / Magento 2 (or similar eCommerce platforms).
- Strong PHP + MySQL (or relational DB) background, comfortable with backend architecture and data models.
- Previous experience working with APIs, integrations, payment/shipping systems, third-party modules and customisations.
- Understanding of high-traffic websites: performance, caching, scalability, security.
- Eagerness to learn and adopt best practices, keep up with platform updates and security patches.
- Collaborative team player with willingness to work across frontend/back-end, DevOps, QA when required.
Science in Sport Group is an equal opportunity employer; we value diversity and strive to cultivate an inclusive workplace. We do not tolerate discrimination of any kind in regard to race, colour, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, ethnicity, age, disability, marital status, or any other characteristic protected by law. We fully support reasonable adjustments throughout our recruitment process, to provide an inclusive and welcoming recruitment experience.